Penn State to again consider controversial season-ticket program

Saturday

Jul 28, 2012 at 8:00 AMJul 28, 2012 at 8:01 AM

Mark Wogenrich

Penn State will revisit its contentious season-ticket program, move aggressively on non-conference football scheduling and look for creative ways to generate revenue (hockey at Beaver Stadium?) in response to fines imposed by the NCAA and Big Ten this week.

Dave Joyner, Penn State's acting athletic director, said that the $73 million in fines will not affect Penn State's general athletic budget, as required by the NCAA, and likely would be paid through an internal university loan and a tightened capital budget. Joyner added that Penn State is pursuing other budget initiatives, including a reassessment of the Seat Transfer & Equity Program that drew sharp reactions last year among football season-ticket holders.

In a wide-ranging interview with reporters Friday at the Big Ten media days, Joyner also said that Penn State is pursuing a trophy game with Wisconsin and that University President Rodney Erickson made the right decision in accepting NCAA sanctions this week.

"It's not my fight to tell the NCAA what their rules are," Joyner said. "We're just here to follow them. ... Our job is to take the medicine and get going."

Joyner echoed the sentiment of head coach Bill O'Brien and his players, who brought to Chicago a singular message they repeated often: Turn the page. O'Brien on Friday continued to ask fans and alumni to move past the Freeh Report findings, the NCAA sanctions and arguments over whether Erickson should have accepted those sanctions under threat of the so-called "death penalty."

"No one cares anymore in the football building what you think about the Freeh Report," O'Brien said. "... No one cares what you think about NCAA sanctions. So move on, turn the page."Part of that, Joyner said, involves ways to fund the athletic budget while also paying the fines ($60 million by the NCAA and $13 million by the Big Ten). Joyner said he expects to revisit the STEP program, which required some season-ticket holders to increase their donations to the university's Nittany Lion Club to maintain their seats at Beaver Stadium. Annual contributions are $100 for a majority of seats and $400 or $600 for those in better locations.

Joyner said he has sought input from alumni about the program, which he said could create more donor levels to create a more equitable distribution of tickets. He also did not rule out suspending or scrapping the program, which cost the athletic department several thousand season-ticket purchases last year but generated more than $4 million in revenue from the increased donations.

"We'll take a look at everything," Joyner said. "I'm not opposed to looking at any alternative."

Regarding the schedule, both Joyner and O'Brien have proposed scheduling more high-profile teams to generate better competition and fewer one-game paydays for lower-level teams. Joyner said he has spoken with several schools, which he wouldn't identify, about single games, home-and-home series and neutral-site games.

Earlier this week, O'Brien mentioned the possibility of scheduling a trip to Hawaii as a 13th game, which is permitted by the NCAA. However, a spokesperson for the University of Hawaii said that teams under NCAA sanctions cannot take advantage of the exemption.

"We will have to look into that," Joyner said. "Within the [12-game] regular-season structure, we could do anything we want."Joyner added that the athletic department has explored outside events, such as a hockey game at Beaver Stadium, to generate revenue.

"How about wrestling at Beaver Stadium?" he joked. "We're looking at all those things. They're fun to do, regardless of the situation."

Good behavior: O'Brien said he hoped the NCAA might revisit its sanctions in the future and adjust them based on Penn State's compliance.

On Monday, NCAA President Mark Emmert said that he reserved the right to initiate further investigations that could lead to more sanctions. O'Brien said he hoped it could work in the opposite direction as well.

"That could go either way, if we're not crossing our Ts and dotting our Is," the coach said. "But if we are, if we're behaving and acting like the program that we're going to act like, my understanding is that they can come in and revisit that. That's definitely part of the equation. Everything's at their discretion."

The ongoing transfer saga: Penn State players continued to get recruited by opposing college coaches, with running back Silas Redd, linebacker Khairi Fortt and kicker Anthony Fera among those weighing their options seriously.

However, those who have affirmed their commitment still are receiving calls. One parent asked O'Brien, "If a school didn't want my kid out of high school, why do they want him now?"The coach also repeated that the "core group of our best players" have indicated they're returning.

On Thursday night, the Big Ten coaches met for a cocktail social, and O'Brien said he mingled freely, even with coaches who are recruiting his kids.